Top ten clicked-on stories of 2016

TRI-CITIES AND YAKIMA, WA - With tomorrow being New Year's Eve, we thought we'd share with you the local stories you clicked on the most in 2016.

We had our digital producer do some digging on our website to find out which local stories were viewed most, and that means clicks on the web story as well as shares.

#10: On February 5th, a multi-car crash on snowy Snoqualmie Pass left two people dead. A young Zillah man caused it; 24-year-old Daryel Ruenda lost control of a semi and ended up stopping, blocking the road and starting the chain reaction wreck.

Police charged Ruenda with vehicular homicide, and troopers initially believed he had been under the influence.

#9: Another tragic and rather bizarre story: a 33-year-old Chicago man murdered his girlfriend and the mother of their child and left her naked along I-90 near Ritzville in March. He told detectives that he, the victim, and their child had traveled cross-country with the intent of selling a pound of meth in Washington.

The drug-induced road trip left him paranoid and he believed his girlfriend was a witch, so he killed her with their child in the car. Troopers closed the highway for hours to investigate.

#8: Nearly a year ago on January 4th, Mother Nature put on a show at Palouse Falls, freezing the water thanks to the frigid temperatures. This beautiful phenomenon resulted in our newsroom receiving numerous gorgeous pictures from our viewers.

#7: Early March is marked by one of the largest drug busts in Oregon history. State Police Troopers arrested a Royal City man and a Moses Lake man after discovering millions of dollars worth of drugs in the car they were driving into Washington. 25 pounds of cocaine and 44 pounds of meth were seized.

#6: A recent tragedy - A 69-year-old Kennewick woman was kidnapped, held for $250,000 ransom, and murdered in November. Her body was found off of Coffin Road two days after she went missing.

49-year-old Theresa Wiltse is still in jail after she pleaded innocent. Her trial is set to begin next month.

#5: Lots of rock fans in the region "KISS-ed" a July weekend goodbye with a sweet KISS concert at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Viewer pictures poured in from the concert and band sightings around the Tri-Cities.

#4: Even a more mild summer couldn't stop fire season, although rather than forest fires, low-land grass fires were more prolific. Mid-summer fires burned all over eastern Washington, once again keeping firefighters busy throughout fire season.

#3: A Pasco-area family was left heartbroken in June, after claiming a neighbor shot and killed their Husky puppy that was just six months old. Sheriff's Deputies forwarded the report to prosecutors.

#2: Early December snowfall made for treacherous travel, and a couple of snow days. Viewers sent in dozens of pictures and videos that proved very popular on our social media pages.

#1: And the top clicked-on story of 2016: A late May storm that resulted in flooding and even produced a small tornado. More than 50,000 people clicked on these pictures of rushing water, hail, and the twister. The National Weather Service confirmed the rare tornado, but fortunately nothing got damaged and no one was injured.

All of us at NBC Right Now thank you, our viewers, for staying tuned through 2016, and we hope to make 2017 even more newsworthy!

BLY, Oregon- A Kennewick man is dead after crashing his car on the highway in Oregon. On Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Oregon State Police and emergency workers responded to a single car accident on State Highway 140E milepost 53 near Bly, Oregon. OSP said 35-year-old Timothy J. Morris of Kennewick was traveling eastbound on Hwy 140E when his car left the roadway and rolled several times. The car then came to rest 40 feet north of the westbound lane. Morris was pronounced dead at the scen...More >>

BLY, Oregon- A Kennewick man is dead after crashing his car on the highway in Oregon. On Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Oregon State Police and emergency workers responded to a single car accident on State Highway 140E milepost 53 near Bly, Oregon. OSP said 35-year-old Timothy J. Morris of Kennewick was traveling eastbound on Hwy 140E when his car left the roadway and rolled several times. The car then came to rest 40 feet north of the westbound lane. Morris was pronounced dead at the scen...More >>